Cardiff manager and CEO attend Sala funeral
CARDIFF CITY manager Neil Warnock and club chief executive Ken Choo joined mourners at the funeral of Emiliano Sala in his hometown in Argentina on Saturday.
The 28-year-old striker’s body was repatriated on Friday before it was returned to Progreso, about 350 miles from Buenos Aires, for the public vigil.
Mr Warnock and Mr Choo joined locals from the small town for a service in the gymnasium of Sala’s boyhood club, San Martin de Progreso.
They arrived wearing black suits with yellow daffodils pinned to their jackets as a tribute to Sala.
Cardiff’s players have also worn shirts bearing the flower in memory of Sala, who became the club’s record £15m. signing days before his death.
Mr Warnock explained why he had chosen to attend the funeral.
‘He’s my player. He signed for me. I think he was going to be very instrumental in what we were looking to do and I feel it’s the only good thing you can do.
‘Family puts it in perspective. Family is so important, everything here today has shown how important it is... it seems like the whole village has got together.’
Mr Choo added: ‘We feel very sad and the whole club feels very sad.
‘Today I think it’s good for the family to have some closure.’
Sala’s mother and father were also present at the vigil.
His body was cremated at a private service in the city of Santa Fe on Saturday afternoon.
Before the funeral, San Martin de Progreso posted a tribute to Facebook which said: ‘We are waiting for you... like the first day you left but this time to stay with us forever. You went and you are an example for everyone.’
Sala died on 21 January when the plane he was travelling in crashed in the English Channel after he had visited players at his former French club, Nantes.
His body was recovered from the wreckage on 7 February, but the British pilot, David Ibbotson, 59, from Lincolnshire, has not been found.
A fundraising campaign to restart the search for the pilot has raised more than £240,000.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain last week, Mr Ibbotson’s daughter, Danielle, said the family would not give up hope.
‘If you’ve got hope then you shouldn’t give up,’ she said. ‘He wouldn’t stop searching for me.’
She added: ‘We still hope and pray and hope everyone keeps my dad in their prayers.’
The plane remains on the seabed north of Alderney.
